A cartridge is provided with a supply housing having at least one exterior surface defining a supply area adapted to receive a donor ribbon of predetermined width and a take-up housing having a main wall that defines a take-up area for receiving donor ribbon of predetermined width. A take-up projection on the take-up housing and the main wall jointly define a take-up window therebetween through which donor ribbon passes into the take-up area. The take-up projection includes at least one tensioning feature so as to pre-load the take-up projection such that the take-up projection is inhibited from warping toward towards the main wall.
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1. A cartridge comprising:
a supply housing having at least one exterior surface defining a supply area adapted to receive a donor ribbon of predetermined width;
a take-up housing having a main wall defining a take-up area for receiving donor ribbon of predetermined width; and
a take-up projection on the take-up housing, said take-up projection and said main wall jointly defining a take-up window there between through which donor ribbon passes into the take-up area, the take-up projection including at least one tensioning feature so as to pre-load the take-up projection to inhibit the take-up projection from warping towards the main wall, said at least one tensioning feature being located at one end of the take-up projection.
4. A cartridge comprising:
a supply housing having at least one exterior surface defining a supply area adapted to receive a donor ribbon of predetermined width;
a take-up housing defining a take-up area;
a connecting portion between the supply housing and the take-up housing, said connecting portion providing a printing path for the donor ribbon from the supply area to the take-up area; and
a main wall and a take-up projection extend between the take-up housing and the connecting portion to define a take-up window there between through which the donor ribbon passes from the connecting portion into the take-up area, the take-up projection including at least one tensioning feature so as to pre-load the take-up projection to inhibit the take-up projection from warping towards the main wall, said at least one tensioning feature being located at one end of the take-up projection.
3. A cartridge comprising:
a supply housing having at least one exterior surface defining a supply area adapted to receive a donor ribbon of predetermined width;
a take-up housing having a main wall defining a take-up area for receiving donor ribbon of predetermined width; and
a take-up projection on the take-up housing, said take-up projection and said main wall jointly defining a take-up window there between through which donor ribbon passes into the take-up area, the take-up projection including at least one tensioning feature so as to pre-load the take-up projection to inhibit the take-up projection from warping towards the main wall;
wherein:
the take-up projection has two ends and extends in a direction transverse to the path, the take-up projection being longer than the width of received donor ribbon; and
the at least one tensioning feature is positioned on the take-up projection between the lateral edges of received donor ribbon and the end of the take-up projection.
6. A cartridge comprising:
a supply housing having at least one exterior surface defining a supply area adapted to receive a donor ribbon of predetermined width;
a take-up housing defining a take-up area;
a connecting portion between the supply housing and the take-up housing, said connecting portion providing a printing path for the donor ribbon from the supply area to the take-up area; and
a main wall and a take-up projection extend between the take-up housing and the connecting portion to define a take-up window there between through which the donor ribbon passes from the connecting portion into the take-up area, the take-up projection including at least one tensioning feature so as to pre-load the take-up projection to inhibit the take-up projection from warping towards the main wall
wherein:
the take-up projection has two ends and extends in a direction transverse to the path, the take-up projection being longer than the width of received donor ribbon; and
the at least one tensioning feature is positioned on the take-up projection between the lateral edges of received donor ribbon and the end of the take-up projection.
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Reference is made to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/479,853, entitled UNIVERSAL DONOR CARTRIDGE filed Jul. 3, 2006 in the name of Lysiak et al.
The invention relates to improvements in donor cartridges for use in thermal printers.
A thermal printer produces images on a receiver medium by transferring donor material from a donor ribbon to the receiver medium by selectively heating the donor ribbon while simultaneously pressuring the donor ribbon against the receiver medium. In this way, heated donor material transfers from the donor ribbon to the receiver medium to form an image while unheated donor material remains on the donor ribbon. Transfer may be by flow of melted donor material or by movement of sublimated donor material to the receiver medium. The donor ribbon and receiver medium are separated after transfer of the material to yield a receiver medium having a pattern of deposited donor material forming an image.
Donor ribbon is typically connected between a supply spool, which initially carries a supply of unused donor ribbon, and a take-up spool upon which used donor ribbon is wound. In operation, the take-up spool is rotated to draw donor ribbon from the supply spool and across the print head for use in printing. Often the donor spool and take-up spool are joined together by a structural framework to form a thermal donor cartridge. This structural framework positions the supply spool and the take-up spool in a preferred geometric relationship to facilitate proper loading and can also be used to provide surfaces that enclose or otherwise protect the donor ribbon from damage due to incidental contact and from damage due to exposure to contaminants. Such a thermal donor cartridge is disclosed in commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/479,853 filed Jul. 3, 2006 in the name of Lysiak et al.
The cartridge disclosed in the above-mentioned U.S. patent application provides a take-up window between a take-up projection and a main wall of a donor ribbon take-up housing. Because the take-up projection needs to be very thin to meet other design criteria, the take-up projection tends to warp. Sometimes, the direction of warp is towards the main wall of the donor ribbon take-up housing; closing down the take-up window. When this occurs, it creates a donor pinch point during printing. Any such pinch point on the take-up side of the cartridge would cause an unusual gradient in the web tension on the take-up side of the thermal head, tending to result in image artifacts and resulting in user dissatisfaction.
Another potential problem associated with cartridges such as shown in the above-mentioned U.S. patent application pertains to the desire to produce a printer that does not cause unnecessary vibrations. Such vibrations can arise when a receiver material rubs across a lower portion of the take-up projection. The image receiver rubbing on the take-up projection during printing generates a particular vibration due to the flexibility of the guide rib. Such vibration would be considered to be objectionable to many users, and can impact printer performance.
In one aspect, a cartridge is provided with a supply housing having at least one exterior surface defining a supply area adapted to receive a donor ribbon of predetermined width and a take-up housing having a main wall that defines a take-up area for receiving donor ribbon of predetermined width. A take-up projection on the take-up housing and the main wall jointly define a take-up window therebetween through which donor ribbon passes into the take-up area. The take-up projection includes at least one tensioning feature so as to pre-load the take-up projection such that the take-up projection is inhibited from warping towards the main wall.
In another aspect, a cartridge is provided with a supply housing adapted to receive a donor ribbon of predetermined width and a take-up housing defining a take-up area. A connecting portion extends between the supply housing and the take-up housing to provide a printing path for the donor ribbon from the supply housing to the take-up area. A main wall and a take-up projection extend between the take-up housing and the connecting portion to define a take-up window therebetween through which the donor ribbon passes into the take-up area. The take-up projection includes at least one tensioning feature so as to pre-load the take-up projection to inhibit the take-up projection from warping toward towards the main wall.
In one embodiment the tensioning feature is adapted to force the take-up projection into a preloaded position, partially in tension and partially in compression, such as to dampen vibration of the take-up projection. The take-up projection has two ends and extends in a direction transverse to the path, the take-up projection being longer than the width of received donor ribbon. The tensioning feature is positioned on the take-up projection between the lateral edges of received donor ribbon and the end of the take-up projection.
A supply projection 27 is connected to lower exterior surface 26 and extends away from lower exterior surface 26 to allow donor ribbon 42 to pass from supply area 28 to a supply waypoint 29. As is illustrated in
Thermal donor cartridge 20 also has a take-up housing 52 with a drive end 53 and a non-drive end 54. Take-up housing 52 is shown having an upper exterior surface 55 and a lower exterior surface 56 that define a take-up area 58. Bearing surfaces 60 and 62 are provided by take-up housing 52 and are adapted to receive a take-up spool 68 that is connected to donor ribbon 42.
A take-up projection 57 extends away from lower exterior surface 56 to allow donor ribbon 42 to pass from a take-up waypoint 59 to take-up area 58. As is illustrated in
Supply housing 22 and take-up housing 52 are joined to and are held apart by a connecting portion 70 to form a separation area 74 therebetween along a length of thermal donor cartridge 20. Connecting portion 70 comprises a non-drive end linkage 71 linking non-drive end 24 of supply housing 22 to non-drive end 54 of take-up housing 52, and a drive end linkage 80 linking drive end 23 of supply housing 22 to drive end 53 of take-up housing 52. Non-drive end linkage 71 and drive end linkage 80 extend for a distance to define a lateral separation between supply housing 22 and take-up housing 52.
Access window 76 allows printing structures to contact donor ribbon 42 so that at least a portion of donor ribbon 42 positioned along printing path 78 can be used for printing without substantially removing donor ribbon 42 from thermal donor cartridge 20. In practice this typically means that a thermal printhead (not shown) can be advanced against a top surface of donor ribbon 42 to drive donor ribbon 42 against a receiver medium (not shown) that is supported by a platen or such like supporting printing surface (not shown).
Supply waypoint 29 takes the form of a surface, which can be a stationary surface such as an edge of supply main wall projection 101, a bar (not shown) or a rotating surface such as a shaft (not shown) around which donor ribbon 42 turns to enter a printing path 78. Printing path 78 extends from supply waypoint 29, through access window 76 to take-up waypoint 59. Donor ribbon 42 turns at take-up waypoint 59 for travel through take-up window 64 to take-up area 58. Take-up waypoint 59 can be a stationary surface such as an edge of take-up projection 57, a bar (not shown) or a rotating surface such as a shaft (not shown) around which donor ribbon 42 passes while exiting printing path 78.
In this way, thermal donor cartridge 20 provides a donor ribbon path that flows from supply housing 22, along supply projection 27, to supply waypoint 29 through access window 76 and along a printing path 78 to take-up waypoint 59, along take-up projection 57 and into take-up housing 52. Any of these structures can provide surfaces that contact donor ribbon 42 and that can be used as donor ribbon guides leading the donor ribbon 42 from supply housing 22 through supply side edge 90 of access window 76 to a take-up side edge 92 of access window 76 and to take-up housing 52. Accordingly, such donor ribbon guides can comprise the donor path.
Thermal donor cartridge 20 is formed by inserting supply spool 40 and take-up spool 68 into one of a lower housing 86 or an upper housing 88 and assembling the other of the lower housing 86 or upper housing 88 thereto. In the embodiment illustrated, non-drive end linkage 71 comprises an non-drive end linkage upper portion 72 provided by upper housing 88 and a non-drive end linkage lower portion 73 provided by lower housing 86, while drive end linkage 80 comprises a drive end linkage upper portion 82 on upper housing and a drive end linkage lower portion 84 on lower housing 86.
It will be appreciated that in other embodiments of the present invention, supply-housing 22, take-up housing 52, and connecting portion 70 can be formed using more or different components and using different assembly techniques.
As can be seen in
Printing path 78 extends along a horizontal length K from supply waypoint 29 to take-up waypoint 59. Access window 76 extends along a horizontal length C of thermal donor cartridge 20 from a supply side edge 90 to a take-up side edge 92 of access window 76.
As is also shown in
Similarly, the arrangement of take-up housing 52, take-up projection 57, and connecting portion 70 position take-up waypoint 59 at a take-up side waypoint offset G measured along a take-up spool axis 96 from take-up waypoint 59 to take-up spool axis 96, while lower exterior surface 56 of take-up housing 52 is positioned at a take-up housing offset H measured along take-up spool axis 96. As is shown in
As best seen in
Another potential problem associated with cartridges such as shown in
In order to overcome the potential problems of “donor pinch” and unnecessary vibration, one or more tensioning features are provided that preload take-up projection 57. In one embodiment illustrated in
The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention.
Blakely, Kevin H., Lysiak, Paul A.
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Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
Aug 30 2006 | Eastman Kodak Company | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / | |||
Aug 30 2006 | BLAKELY, KEVIN H | Eastman Kodak Company | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 018254 | /0312 | |
Aug 30 2006 | LYSIAK, PAUL A | Eastman Kodak Company | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 018254 | /0312 | |
Feb 15 2012 | PAKON, INC | CITICORP NORTH AMERICA, INC , AS AGENT | SECURITY INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 028201 | /0420 | |
Feb 15 2012 | Eastman Kodak Company | CITICORP NORTH AMERICA, INC , AS AGENT | SECURITY INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 028201 | /0420 | |
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